Early foul trouble, after all, had limited the Oregon State
center to just six first-half minutes against Oregon. The Beavers, equipped
with a seven-point lead, surely needed him to stay on the court to avoid their
second collapse in little more than a week.

"I was pretty upset and angry at myself," Brandt said,
"letting myself get two fouls early."

The senior focused those frustrations into a dynamic second
half. He emerged from the break to tally 10 of his 14 points, two assists and a
block — timely contributions that helped propel OSU to an 80-72 win over the
rival Ducks.

"He was just massive," Robinson said.

Brandt opened the half aggressively. He attacked the basket,
drew contact, hit a pair of jumpers and needed less than four minutes to score
eight points.

Then, with 6:07 remaining, the Australian big man found
guard Langston Morris-Walker streaming toward the basket on a backdoor cut.
Morris-Walker converted the layup to extend OSU's lead to 12.

The highlight-caliber assist offered a prelude to another
critical sequence with about a minute and a half left. Brandt hit guard Roberto
Nelson, again on a backdoor cut, to give OSU a seven-point edge. At that point,
the Beavers were content polishing off the victory from the line.

Yet perhaps Brandt's greatest contribution Sunday doesn't
appear on the box score. Throughout the second half, he ensured OSU avoided yet
another swoon. He led huddles, stressed the game plan and directed younger teammates.

"He was a leader out there," Robinson said of Brandt, who is
averaging 16.2 points and 5.5 rebounds at Gill Coliseum this season. "It's
exactly what you need from your seniors in a Civil War game."